this post was submitted on 07 Jan 2026
34 points (94.7% liked)

Ask Lemmy

37764 readers
1210 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !askusa@discuss.online


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

I discovered that a couple of my towels apparently got treated with fabric softener at one point: they have lost all absorbency (I never use softener but apparently someone in the household did). It is impossible to dry anything with them, they just push the water around.

What's the best/easiest way to remove the vile stuff without damaging the towels?

top 13 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] CobblerScholar@lemmy.world 16 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I've heard citric acid is a good way but I've used vinegar with decent results. Only need like a splash and no you won't smell it afterwards

[–] Demonmariner@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Thanks, I'll try vinegar first, since I have some.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 month ago (2 children)

people use vinegar for everything. I can't image a world without vinegar.

[–] Passerby6497@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

My partner has a vinegar allergy (among other very common items), and yeah, that's not super far off lol. They love knitting and had a reaction from the vinegar used to set the dye...

[–] kaulquappus@feddit.org 1 points 1 month ago

Think again, Jimmy. You see, the pickles that you like so much are made with - yep, vinegar.

[–] blackbrook@mander.xyz 11 points 1 month ago

I would say washing them. Maybe a simple rinse with water would do it, but might depend on your water hardness.

[–] cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I have never heard of this problem before and use fabric softener every time. What am I missing?

[–] Wolf314159@startrek.website 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Absorbent towels. I guess if you'd always used fabric softener, you'd never know how much more effective towels are when they haven't been abused by fabric softener or drier sheets.

[–] cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 month ago

Well this is something I will try next time I buy new towels then.

[–] neidu3@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Anything acidic. Citric acid powder is cheap, effective, and doesn't smell.

[–] mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Fabric softener isn't going to kill your towels' absorbancy with a single wash. You'd have to use fabric softener every wash for an extended period of time to achieve that

[–] GreenKnight23@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

but what if they used a lot, like an idiot.

1000002763

[–] MrsDoyle@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 month ago